UNLOCK: I CAN SEE MY STATS

chapter 23 : the moment ...

A cold wind swept across the wrecked deck of the ship, carrying with it the scent of blood and death. Marcus stood there, glaring with red eyes full of hatred at Duke Zenmar, who had fallen to the ground and was scrambling backward in terror.

“You… you bastard… how dare you lay a hand on me?! You’ll regret this… you’ll truly regret this!” Zenmar shouted, his voice a mix of rage and fear as he pointed a trembling finger at Marcus.

Marcus let out a mocking smile and approached him with slow, deliberate steps. Then he slammed his foot down on Zenmar’s leg with all his strength.

BOOM!!

“Aaaahhh! …” Zenmar screamed in agony, writhing like a worm under Marcus’s foot.

He looked up with bloody eyes, trying to spit curses. “You lowly ....aaahh! …”

“It seems you don’t understand your current position…” Marcus said, then landed another savage kick into Zenmar’s stomach.

“Look at me… right now! I am the master and you’re the slave…”

He bent down, grabbed the sobbing, mucus-streaked face of the Promised, then began slamming his head repeatedly into the rough deck.

“Why!!…”

BOOM!!

“Why!!…”

BOOM!!

“Why!!…”

BOOM!!

With each word, he smashed Zenmar’s face against the splintered wood.

“S-Stop! Stop! I beg you! Don’t do this!”

Zenmar screamed, his face swollen and dripping with blood, crying from the pain.

“Begging?”

Marcus sneered, wiping his bloodied hand on Zenmar’s thin, elegant tunic. He stood, placed his right foot on Zenmar’s head, and pressed down harder.

“Where were the pleas of the slaves? Where were the pleas of Rain, the man you murdered in cold blood?”

CRACK!!

“Where was your mind when you attacked us!!”

CRACK!!

Zenmar broke down sobbing, screaming for mercy as a jagged piece of wood pressed deeper and deeper into his bloody face under Marcus’s boot.

Hearing his desperate pleas only fueled Marcus’s rage.

“Mercy? Where was your mercy when you killed my father, where was your mercy when you tortured the others…” Marcus shouted with seething fury.

After a while, he stopped pressing on Zenmar’s head when he realized the man had lost consciousness.

“Tch! This pig is far too weak…”

He grabbed Zenmar by the collar and started dragging him slowly toward the edge of the ruined ship, which by now was slowly sinking.

Because of the corpse of the Deep Sea King Marcus had killed earlier, several other Deep Sea Kings had appeared, swimming in circles around the ship like they were performing a feeding ritual.

As if sensing death closing in, Zenmar regained consciousness, opening his eyes with difficulty.

“P-Please… have mercy!” he croaked out, voice trembling. But Marcus was done listening.

With cold, merciless eyes, he lifted Zenmar by the collar and tossed him into the sea like trash.

BOOM!!

A Deep Sea King with a dragon-like face surged up, shattered the water’s surface, and swallowed the duke whole in a single bite before sinking back into the depths.

Marcus, now soaked, stood there staring at his trembling hands.

“I did it… I did it, Father. I avenged you…” He let out a mad laugh that slowly faded into silence.

He looked out over the dark sea and whispered,

“I did it… but… why don’t I feel happy?”

ROAR!!

The snarls of the Deep Sea Kings fighting over their prize snapped him out of it. He swallowed hard and cast a quick glance around.

The shattered ship was still sinking, waterlogged wood dropping into the depths with each wave.

He remembered he was still stranded on unstable wreckage, and the nearest Deep Sea Kings were circling below like terrifying shadows.

Marcus raised his wrist and looked at the strange bracelet, the thing that had given him this chance for revenge and survival. He stared at its faint green indicator.

He tapped it and whispered,

“I don’t know what you are, or who you are, but thank you… truly… for giving me this chance.”

He paused for a moment, as if offering silent gratitude, then began inspecting the bracelet carefully.

Aside from the small screen glowing faint green, there were no buttons or ports.

Marcus gently pressed the screen with his finger, recalling that he’d done the same when he transformed before.

The bracelet made a strange sound, then flashed, projecting a green holographic disk like a ring.

There were three images on it. Marcus instantly recognized one it was the same giant serpent Deep Sea King he had transformed into.

“Hmmm! Last time I pressed the Deep Sea King image and turned into it…” He eyed the remaining two unfamiliar images and his eyes lit up.

“So! Does this mean I can transform into these creatures too!?”

Suddenly, his eyes widened.

“Wait!!! Is this… is this the power of Aether Material my mother once told me about… but…”

He clenched his hand tightly, feeling no weakness, no drain.

“Weird!!…”

“No, this is completely different from how my mother described it… Forget it. Best to get out of here before I end up as one of those Deep Sea Kings’ next meals…!”

“Come on… get me out of here, I have to get out of this hell.”

He stared at the bracelet, then lightly pressed the shape of the serpent Deep Sea King he was already familiar with.

The device chimed, and this time he felt no pain. His skin turned purple, hard scales formed, and in a flash his body grew to nearly 100 meters.

“Yes!” Marcus shouted inwardly with joy as he looked at the ship, now tiny from his monstrous height.

At this size, he was dozens, no, hundreds of times stronger than his exhausted human form.

He wrapped his tail around a broken mast, used it like a lever, and launched himself into the air before plunging into the water smoothly.

He pushed through the sea, avoiding the other Deep Sea Kings who veered away as they sensed faint electric shocks coming from his scales.

Marcus swam off in a random direction, having no clue where he was, his knowledge of navigation as limited as his understanding of the bracelet.

His plan was simple: keep swimming until he found some island or ship, then somehow make his way back home.

He left behind the burning wreck as it slowly disappeared beneath the waves, swimming powerfully through the dark, cold, silent sea, until at some point he felt his strength failing.

“Damn it! Even after all this, it looks like I won’t make it… Sorry, Mother…” Marcus thought weakly, then with the last of his will.

He swam upward, felt himself start to shift back from the transformation, then lost consciousness, believing he glimpsed the shadow of a ship out of the corner of his eye.

.....

At that very moment, thousands of miles away.

Lorana – High Council Headquarters

A dimly lit room, inside it sat five old men in complete silence, the Five Sages of the Union, the supreme authority of the alliance.

Suddenly, a member of the secret guard burst in, standing before them with a deep respectful bow.

“What is it?” one of the sages asked in a dry voice.

The guard took a short breath and said,

“The life lamp of Duke Zenmar… it went out completely a few minutes ago, sir…”

Silence hung heavy until the oldest man with white hair set his staff on the table and frowned.

“Where did it happen?”

The guard answered nervously, feeling the oppressive aura filling the chamber.

“The Open Sea, sir. An explosion was detected, then all contact with the ship was lost…”

Ethanbaron murmured as he laced his fingers together,

“A Promised… killed in the Open Sea… Such insolence hasn’t been seen since the Calamity Age…”

“Unforgivable!!”

Shepherd fixed his gaze on the guard and said with imposing gravity,

“Send a team to investigate immediately. We want to know everything, who killed him, and who dared lay a hand on a Promised…”

The bald sage slowly closed his notebook, then lifted his single good eye toward the agent.

“This will be taken as open defiance against the Promised…”

“We want the culprit’s body, or his head, before sunrise…”

“And summon the Erasure Squad. Make sure there’s no trace tying this incident to the field. If there are survivors or witnesses…”

“Let them vanish along with the wreckage…”

The agent nodded forcefully.

“As you command!”

Then he stepped back twice before rushing off to carry out the order.

The five sages exchanged long, deep looks.

“Shall we call the Naval Army? Perhaps send Seth or one of the generals?” one of them asked.

“Since it happened in the Open Sea, best not to involve their fleets,” another replied.

Torn stroked his chin and added,

“Do you think this was done by the rebel organization?”

Mars shook his head.

“No. Their leader isn’t reckless enough for that…”

“More likely a slave uprising or an attack by some rogue. It wouldn’t be the first time…”

Rohn raised his brows with a grimace.

“Rogues!? I doubt anyone would dare strike a Promised, especially from the weakest sea in the world…”

Mars replied,

“Exactly!! Because it’s the weakest sea, there are plenty of ignorant fools there…”

Worcuri shook his head and said in a solemn tone,

“It doesn’t matter who did it, what matters is burying this disaster before it spreads to the public…”